Lets bring you some stats to round off this week which has not been very kind to the Nifty 50:

Share Market Live

NSE

In the 10 trading sessions since July 20, when the Nifty 50 made its near-term top of 19,990, the index has corrected over 600 points, nearly 400 of which have come in the last three trading sessions.

The last time the Nifty 50 index fell for three days in a row was back in May (16-18).

The Nifty 50 is on course for its second consecutive weekly drop. The last instance of the index declining for back-to-back weeks was back in March this year (March 5-19), when it fell for three weeks in a row.

On Thursday, the Nifty 50 briefly slipped below the 19,300 mark for the first time since July 12. It eventually did manage to respect the July 7 swing low of 19,303, recovering 85 points from the day's low.

The three-day drop has left the investors poorer by over Rs 4.5 lakh crore.

These stats above say a lot about the kind of bull run Indian equities have had since crossing the 19,000 mark in early July. Even a Morgan Stanley upgrade of India could not save the day for the benchmark indices on Thursday as weak global cues and weekly options expiry played their parts.

Osho Krishnan of Angel One said that the Nifty 50 now has an important support in the bullish gap of 19,201 - 19,235 zones, before which, the 19,300 mark could provide some cushion. On the upside, the 20-DEMA of 19,500, which until the start of this week was an important support, has now become a resistance level.

The 19,300 will become a crucial support for the Nifty 50 now, said Rupak De of LKP Securities. On the upside, 19,500 - 19,650 will now act as a key resistance, he added.

Just like the Nifty 50, things are not very rosy for the Nifty Bank either. The index has now lost 1,100 points in just three trading sessions and has now declined in five out of the last six trading sessions. The banking index is also on course for its third weekly drop in the last four weeks.

The Nifty Bank closed below the 50-Day Exponential Moving Average (DEMA) for the first time since April 3, said Ashwni Ramani of SAMCO Securities. He expects the next support for the index to be at 43,400.

Kunal Shah of LKP Securities said that the Nifty Bank has entered a crucial support cluster of 44,500 - 44,400. In case the index fails to hold these levels, Shah sees it falling towards levels of 44,000. However, if the index does hold these support levels, there could be chances of a pullback towards 45,000 as well.

Two stocks that stood out in trade on Thursday. One of them was Vedanta, which fell over 6 percent on Thursday after 16 crore shares exchanged hands in a large deal. The last time the stock closed at levels of 253, was exactly a year ago on August 5, 2022.

The second stock that stood out in a weak market on Thursday was IRFC. The stock ended over 12 percent higher, marking its biggest single-day gain since its IPO in 2021. The stock has nearly doubled from its IPO price and has gained nearly 70 percent in the last four months. 25 percent of the 4.6 crore shares that were traded on the BSE on Thursday were marked for delivery.

What Are the F&O Cues Indicating?

Nifty 50's August futures added 5.4 percent or 5.62 lakh shares in Open Interest. They are now trading at a premium of 86.5 points, compared to 70 points earlier. On the other hand, Nifty Bank's August futures fell 6.3 percent or 1.21 lakh shares in Open Interest. Nifty 50's put-call ratio is now at 0.93 from 0.75.

Indiabulls Housing Finance is out of the F&O ban list from today's session, while Piramal Enterprises, Hindustan Copper and GNFC continue to remain in the ban period.

Nifty 50 on the Call side for August 10 expiry:

For next Thursday's expiry, Nifty 50's call strikes between 19,400 and 19,600 have seen Open Interest addition. Besides these, the 20,000 strike call for next Thursday's expiry has also seen addition in Open Interest.

Nifty 50 on the Put side for August 10 expiry:

For next Thursday's expiry, Nifty 50 put strikes of 19,400 and 19,200 have seen Open Interest addition. Strikes further down, like the 18,500 put and even the 18,000 put have seen addition in Open Interest.

Lets take a look at the stocks which added fresh short positions on Thursday, meaning a decrease in price but increase in Open Interest:

Lets look at the stocks which saw long unwinding on Thursday, meaning a decrease in both price and Open Interest:

Here are the stocks to watch out for ahead of Friday's trading session:

Bharti Airtel: India business Average Revenue per User touches Rs 200, which has been a near-term aspiration for the company. Long-term ARPU target is Rs 300. The company reported a 4 percent increase in consolidated revenue and added 3.15 million subscribers during the quarter.

Eicher Motors: Net profit and other parameters beat expectations from a CNBC-TV18 poll. The net profit rose 50 percent year-on-year, while EBITDA margin expanded by 110 basis points to 25.6 percent.

Hindalco: Net income attributable to common shareholder halves to $156 million. Adjusted EBITDA down 25 percent to $403 million.

Lupin: Milestone income of Rs 205.3 crore from AbbVie aids earnings. EBITDA margin at the highest level in five quarters. At 18 percent, margin is close to the exit run-rate guidance for financial year 2024. US sales at $181 million compared to estimates of up to $182 million. India business grew above 9 percent for second straight quarter.

Piramal Pharma: Earnings weak sequentially but margins see recovery year-on-year. However, company reported a net loss of nearly Rs 100 crore compared to a net profit of Rs 50 crore in the March quarter. The company said that the second half has historically been better than the first half in terms of both revenue and profit.

Deepak Nitrite: Revenue down 14 percent, while operating profit declines by 41 percent year-on-year. Weakness led by the Phenolics division where revenue drops to Rs 115 crore from Rs 133 crore. Net profit also fell 36 percent year-on-year.

Mahanagar Gas: EBITDA/scm at Rs 16.8 is higher than estimates of Rs 14 and at a multi-quarter high. Volumes at 3.41 mmscmd versus estimate of 3.5 mmscmd. CNG realisations down only Rs 3.4 per scm despite Rs 8 per kg price cut.

Maruti Suzuki: To consider mode of payment to acquire 100 percent stake in Suzuki Motor Gujarat from Suzuki Motor Corporation. Payment to be done either via cash or issue of equity shares of Maruti to SMC.

Torrent Power: Enters into power transfer agreement with Shapoorji Pallonji for supply of 132 MW solar power. To invest Rs 700 crore for 132 MW solar power project.

Zomato: Although results came during market closing, it remains to be seen if there is any follow up reaction to its first ever quarterly net profit.

Paytm: Merchant payment volumes at Rs 1.47 lakh crore, up 39 percent year-on-year in July. Disbursements at Rs 5,194 crore, up 148 percent year-on-year. 43 lakh loans were disbursed.

What Are Global Cues Indicating?

Asian equities have opened mixed on the final trading day of the week as rising bond yields continue to pressure markets after the US credit rating downgrade.

The Nikkei 225 and the Topix have opened lower by 0.5 percent each, while South Korea's Kospi is bucking the trend, gaining 0.3 percent. Hang Seng futures are also pointing to a stronger opening.

Overnight, US equities fell further with the S&P 500 dropping 0.25 percent, the Dow Jones dropping 0.2 percent. The Nasdaq ended 0.1 percent lower.

Foreign investors continued to remain net sellers in the cash market on Thursday while the domestic investors were net buyers.

Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities is expecting a minor bounce from lower levels after a significant correction. The 19,550 - 19,600 levels is likely to present a sell-on-rise opportunity. Immediate support is placed at 19,300 levels.

The next support for the Nifty 50 is at its 50-Day Exponential Moving Average (DEMA), which is now at 19,161, said SAMCO's Ramani. A break below the 50-DEMA can drag the index lower to levels of 18,600, he said. Immediate resistance is seen at 19,400.

First Published:Aug 3, 2023 11:21 PM IST